lairy
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of lairy
First recorded in 1905–10; apparently to be identified with British, especially Cockney slang lairy “cunning, knowing, conceited,” respelling (representing dialectal pronunciation) of leery 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Like betting on horses - we don't do that stuff, but we know the kind of lairy groups that do."
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
"I was young and naive and played up to my lairy character," she told The Sun.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2021
Sunday night's headliners Kasabian have also come in for a bit of a bashing - largely from critics who look down on their lairy brand of pomp-rock.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2014
But don't think it's gone too la-di-da – there's still plenty to appeal to your lairy side: 17in alloys, red calliper brakes and chromed twin exhausts.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 7, 2013
Jamieson gives lair, vb. to stick in the mire, lair, sb. a bog, lairy, adj. boggy.
From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
